In brilliant news, I'm to be made permanent. A combination of staff leaving and us being awarded extra man-hours for our store means it can finally be a thing, and my manager has gone ahead and put it in motion without even getting approval from his boss. ♥ It might only be a tiny contract but it's something. I have never gone more than about a week without extra work, and this sudden mass-exodus has left us with a fair few shifts to cover. Plus I'm still getting hours offered from two of our sister stores.
J and I have booked to go Kayaking and Stand-Up Paddleboarding. It's costing us £30 each for each activity, but he's not here for long and we're getting some quality activities in while we can. We're also thinking about a picnic lunch for tomorrow at the local parklands.
I brought home free salmon steaks and a tray of roasting vegetables plus a pack of mushrooms, which J kindly cooked up for me in his flat. He hasn't cooked for so long and he enjoys it. The food was delicious and of course I forgot to take a picture! It's so nice to have a really delicious, healthy and free meal in good company. I also got pork steaks, breakfast cereal, and cake. Plus there were mini watermelons, plums, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, bread and of course the usual dozen sandwiches which I left for my housemates downstairs.
Thursday 30 July 2020
Monday 27 July 2020
DEE Licious
I finally, for the first time in forever, made a banana cake. I kept bringing home free overripe bananas and procrastinating for so long that they even went beyond banana cake stage. And yes, that's a really, really long time, especially if you've kept them in the fridge...
But I digress, I made a banana cake today and am kicking myself for not making a double portion because it is just so incredibly good. I have eaten three slices and have saved the last piece for my son J to eat when he gets home from work.
It uses the easiest cake recipe in the world, which I posted ages and ages ago. One thing that I should mention is that this took 50 minutes to turn the right colour on top and be ready. It makes sense, because although it only makes a small cake, those bananas almost double the volume of the batter.
Survived the zoo. It was overcast but didn't really rain, which was good. But disappointingly a lot of exhibits were shut or seemed to contain no animals. We'd seen the whole place in two hours and agreed that the random housecat we saw was the best animal there and the best exhibit was the bugs house. Underwhelming. At least we didn't buy our picnic lunch, which was freebie bits and pieces from work.
But I digress, I made a banana cake today and am kicking myself for not making a double portion because it is just so incredibly good. I have eaten three slices and have saved the last piece for my son J to eat when he gets home from work.
It uses the easiest cake recipe in the world, which I posted ages and ages ago. One thing that I should mention is that this took 50 minutes to turn the right colour on top and be ready. It makes sense, because although it only makes a small cake, those bananas almost double the volume of the batter.
Survived the zoo. It was overcast but didn't really rain, which was good. But disappointingly a lot of exhibits were shut or seemed to contain no animals. We'd seen the whole place in two hours and agreed that the random housecat we saw was the best animal there and the best exhibit was the bugs house. Underwhelming. At least we didn't buy our picnic lunch, which was freebie bits and pieces from work.
Friday 24 July 2020
Looking Up, Looking Down
My next-door neighbour has moved out and in a fit of brilliance I asked the landlord if my son could pay a little over the asking price in return for only staying a short time. They said yes! The room is much larger than mine, a fair bit nicer and more spacious and just feels nice. We're moving his things over the next few days. I am also tossing up whether I might want it myself after he leaves. I'm starting to think that I might have to accept that ownership might be delayed a little longer. We shall see.
The flat search: I went to see the renovator's dream. It was incredible, and not in a good way. In my mind I was kinda hoping for something where you can just put a rug down and give the place a good clean. Yeah, no, this place didn't have an intact floor or ceiling. I don't have that kind of money to merely buy air space! A bit depressing, to be honest. She told me she'd had offers on it. So I told her that my offer wouldn't be in the ballpark and mentioned my budget off the cuff, and then she almost accidentally confirmed it's not in the ballpark, and agreed that it's not a cheap refurbishment. So that's that. She was nice, and at least I saw another example of what costs what.
Eating: free mozzarella, salad, cheesecake and sandwiches.
The flat search: I went to see the renovator's dream. It was incredible, and not in a good way. In my mind I was kinda hoping for something where you can just put a rug down and give the place a good clean. Yeah, no, this place didn't have an intact floor or ceiling. I don't have that kind of money to merely buy air space! A bit depressing, to be honest. She told me she'd had offers on it. So I told her that my offer wouldn't be in the ballpark and mentioned my budget off the cuff, and then she almost accidentally confirmed it's not in the ballpark, and agreed that it's not a cheap refurbishment. So that's that. She was nice, and at least I saw another example of what costs what.
Eating: free mozzarella, salad, cheesecake and sandwiches.
Tuesday 21 July 2020
Itchy Feet
Today is a bit of a struggle with feeling low and wanting to buy a home already and wondering, sadly, if it is ever going to happen.
The flood of new properties has ground to a halt, at least down near my price range, and the one I want to go and see apparently has a list of interested parties. There has been a change to stamp duty rules meaning people in the 125k+ bracket can now afford to spend more and I worry that this will lead to an uptick in property prices in general. Add to that, my payment holiday has ended so from next month my "total available to spend" is going to go down each month I pay back the loan. Of course, I should be able to re-borrow the repaid money back out every couple of months, but it's just treading water and I'm busy wondering if that might go on for years.
Son J and I have booked to go to the zoo. I don't like this new system, which requires that you book. I had to book it ten days in advance. The weather outside today is awful (muggy, overcast and is likely to rain) and I will be just disgusted if it pours on the day we booked... which would not have happened without pre-booking since we just would not choose to go on a rainy day!
Ouch: Car insurance, £25 more, which is great value considering I have moved house and the original quote was even higher. Goodbye £400.
The flood of new properties has ground to a halt, at least down near my price range, and the one I want to go and see apparently has a list of interested parties. There has been a change to stamp duty rules meaning people in the 125k+ bracket can now afford to spend more and I worry that this will lead to an uptick in property prices in general. Add to that, my payment holiday has ended so from next month my "total available to spend" is going to go down each month I pay back the loan. Of course, I should be able to re-borrow the repaid money back out every couple of months, but it's just treading water and I'm busy wondering if that might go on for years.
Son J and I have booked to go to the zoo. I don't like this new system, which requires that you book. I had to book it ten days in advance. The weather outside today is awful (muggy, overcast and is likely to rain) and I will be just disgusted if it pours on the day we booked... which would not have happened without pre-booking since we just would not choose to go on a rainy day!
Ouch: Car insurance, £25 more, which is great value considering I have moved house and the original quote was even higher. Goodbye £400.
Saturday 18 July 2020
Extension Number Five
...of my work contract, that is. There's a bit of a logistical nightmare in the reasons they currently can't make me permanent, so I will just have to be content with an extra month for now. At least I know that my manager really wants to make it happen and will do anything he can.
As I see things, I nailed that job interview back in January, because the manager asked did I really want to opt for the temp role when two permanent roles were on offer? But in my wisdom I wanted to keep the "good" job and the supermarket would just be a bit of extra money on the side, so I rolled the dice and opted for the temporary contract so as not to clash with Job #1's days. Joke was on me though because the supermarket definitely turned out to be the "good job" and now that I've left Job #1 behind, I have to live with the consequences of my decisions. That's life.
It has its perks, I eat incredibly well (as I said to Son today as we ate chicken strips, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and chocolate eclairs all provided from from our work). There's another rump steak in my freezer too which I can look forward to one day soon. And I've brought home another half-box of bananas plus about 15 pink lady apples, which my 22 housemates squirrelled away post haste.
Eh: I have ordered a pack of three cloth facemasks from eBay. I've been thinking about it for a while, even before this brouhaha began whereby Boris Will Make Us. I hesitate because elderly (read: deaf) people struggle to understand me through a plastic till surround already. I would be exempt from wearing one at work, but it's time I got with the programme and just put one on.
As I see things, I nailed that job interview back in January, because the manager asked did I really want to opt for the temp role when two permanent roles were on offer? But in my wisdom I wanted to keep the "good" job and the supermarket would just be a bit of extra money on the side, so I rolled the dice and opted for the temporary contract so as not to clash with Job #1's days. Joke was on me though because the supermarket definitely turned out to be the "good job" and now that I've left Job #1 behind, I have to live with the consequences of my decisions. That's life.
It has its perks, I eat incredibly well (as I said to Son today as we ate chicken strips, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and chocolate eclairs all provided from from our work). There's another rump steak in my freezer too which I can look forward to one day soon. And I've brought home another half-box of bananas plus about 15 pink lady apples, which my 22 housemates squirrelled away post haste.
Eh: I have ordered a pack of three cloth facemasks from eBay. I've been thinking about it for a while, even before this brouhaha began whereby Boris Will Make Us. I hesitate because elderly (read: deaf) people struggle to understand me through a plastic till surround already. I would be exempt from wearing one at work, but it's time I got with the programme and just put one on.
Wednesday 15 July 2020
Impatience
Me: IT'S 10AM WHY AREN'T THERE ANY NEW PROPERTIES LISTED TODAY YET?
And again every hour, basically.
I've asked to view another property this week, it's the one that is out of price range but which has been listed for a month without the price being dropped. I still think it would be nice to have a nosey inside.
Prolific Academic has been very quiet of late, I was sure something was wrong with the browser plugin, but it appears it has changed behaviour and you now have to manually check, rather than automatic. Sad but I suppose it was too good to last!
Discovered some online resources for guided meditations by Zoom meeting, so I might get myself together to attend a few this week.
Am treating myself to a huge, free, rump steak!
Postscript: said property has had no offers because it is an absolute shambles both physically and legally. I am still hoping to view it soon. It's either going to be completely unobtainable or the bargain of the century. We shall see.
And again every hour, basically.
I've asked to view another property this week, it's the one that is out of price range but which has been listed for a month without the price being dropped. I still think it would be nice to have a nosey inside.
Prolific Academic has been very quiet of late, I was sure something was wrong with the browser plugin, but it appears it has changed behaviour and you now have to manually check, rather than automatic. Sad but I suppose it was too good to last!
Discovered some online resources for guided meditations by Zoom meeting, so I might get myself together to attend a few this week.
Am treating myself to a huge, free, rump steak!
Postscript: said property has had no offers because it is an absolute shambles both physically and legally. I am still hoping to view it soon. It's either going to be completely unobtainable or the bargain of the century. We shall see.
Saturday 11 July 2020
Daytime Adventuring
Son J and I went out for the day today - he's only in town another few weeks and thanks to this covid-19 pandemic, has barely done anything social or touristy at all. While driving there (and looking for a parking spot) I ended up in one of the waterfront streets, filled with pastel-coloured B&B row houses and overlooking the parklands, beach and cliffs. He was awestruck, noting what a lovely place this is. I reflected on the fact he lives a 20-minute walk away but without us having a reason to go, we hadn't made the time... I truly do live in a lovely part of the world.
Anyway, I digress. We went to an outdoor museum, which had some gorgeous gardens and displays. Took lots of photos (which would unfortunately identify where we live) and had a picnic lunch together. Businesses really do seem to have pulled out all the stops despite coronavirus, this one had signs and arrows everywhere, painted markers on the footpaths, and had blocked off certain walkways to force people to follow a one-way system. On the whole most people did exactly as they should. Bravo. This will probably become the new norm, so it's good to see most people "getting" it.
Admission: about £30 between us. But that's ok, we could clearly see that the museum costs a lot to create and to maintain, and we did have a nice couple of hours.
Lunch: free bagels, free chicken loaf, free lettuce, free chocolates from the museum, yellow-stickered cupcakes, and a couple of cans of coke from my massive stash. Five minutes of preparation this morning before I left the house, plus it was inexpensive and not difficult to carry with us. Even if I'd had to buy all the fixings myself, I reckon it cost about a pound each. I looked around at all the people having expensive cafe lunches and takeaway coffees and I thought: ok it was convenient, but that just doubled the cost of your outing today!
Anyway, I digress. We went to an outdoor museum, which had some gorgeous gardens and displays. Took lots of photos (which would unfortunately identify where we live) and had a picnic lunch together. Businesses really do seem to have pulled out all the stops despite coronavirus, this one had signs and arrows everywhere, painted markers on the footpaths, and had blocked off certain walkways to force people to follow a one-way system. On the whole most people did exactly as they should. Bravo. This will probably become the new norm, so it's good to see most people "getting" it.
Admission: about £30 between us. But that's ok, we could clearly see that the museum costs a lot to create and to maintain, and we did have a nice couple of hours.
Lunch: free bagels, free chicken loaf, free lettuce, free chocolates from the museum, yellow-stickered cupcakes, and a couple of cans of coke from my massive stash. Five minutes of preparation this morning before I left the house, plus it was inexpensive and not difficult to carry with us. Even if I'd had to buy all the fixings myself, I reckon it cost about a pound each. I looked around at all the people having expensive cafe lunches and takeaway coffees and I thought: ok it was convenient, but that just doubled the cost of your outing today!
Saturday 4 July 2020
It Came!
A cheque for my tax refund, and it's an amount which made me sing 😀 I actually got proper excited. And of course I added it to my spreadsheet and recalculated what I can afford to spend on a flat and then realised hey, it doesn't make an enormous difference, because there are still currently 0 flats I can actually afford to buy.
However, a really good indicator is that the market has leapt to life. Lockdown officially lifted today (even though we're meant to not travel if we can help it yarda) and this week, properties have been listed left, right and centre. Most are not within cooee of my price range, but MANY of the ones already listed are being reduced. I am waiting for one cheapy in particular to be dropped so that I can offer 85% of the asking price with my fingers crossed. It does risk offending the seller, but considering there's nothing else for me to offer on, I'm no worse off if they say no.
Meanwhile work is not very busy so I can't stash away much more each month. Sigh. It's hard to save when you already live so frugally.
Spendy McSpenderson: three cases of coke cans so that I could qualify for a £2 discount - I'm not an addict much... but I must admit I enjoy this as my one daily treat.
We won't mention the stash of chocolate digestives.
Spendy #2: Bought myself some inexpensive silver rings. I used to wear them years ago and left them all Down Under when I moved, and I miss them. I am being incredibly tightarsed and baulk at spending more than a few pounds, meaning that so far I've only found three suitable ones - I am still hunting for another six.
However, a really good indicator is that the market has leapt to life. Lockdown officially lifted today (even though we're meant to not travel if we can help it yarda) and this week, properties have been listed left, right and centre. Most are not within cooee of my price range, but MANY of the ones already listed are being reduced. I am waiting for one cheapy in particular to be dropped so that I can offer 85% of the asking price with my fingers crossed. It does risk offending the seller, but considering there's nothing else for me to offer on, I'm no worse off if they say no.
Meanwhile work is not very busy so I can't stash away much more each month. Sigh. It's hard to save when you already live so frugally.
Spendy McSpenderson: three cases of coke cans so that I could qualify for a £2 discount - I'm not an addict much... but I must admit I enjoy this as my one daily treat.
We won't mention the stash of chocolate digestives.
Spendy #2: Bought myself some inexpensive silver rings. I used to wear them years ago and left them all Down Under when I moved, and I miss them. I am being incredibly tightarsed and baulk at spending more than a few pounds, meaning that so far I've only found three suitable ones - I am still hunting for another six.
Thursday 2 July 2020
The Story of June
Testable Minds £5.48
Shoppix £5.00
PA £29.19
CheckoutSmart £15.00 (Tesco Voucher)
SnapMyEats £20.00 (Tesco Vouchers)
Not a terrible total. Not an amazing one, but hey, it's all free money.
A three-figure tax refund appeared unannounced in my bank account. It's good, but I still don't know whether any more is coming?
Shoppix £5.00
PA £29.19
CheckoutSmart £15.00 (Tesco Voucher)
SnapMyEats £20.00 (Tesco Vouchers)
Not a terrible total. Not an amazing one, but hey, it's all free money.
A three-figure tax refund appeared unannounced in my bank account. It's good, but I still don't know whether any more is coming?
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